How to remedy Heartburn or Digestive Reflux

(Updated January 2023)

"Gary, I am suffering from acid reflux and don't really want to take prescription medication to mask it ".

Heartburn, also referred to as acid reflux, is a painful burning sensation in the chest. It is a symptom of a digestive system problem. The unpleasant, burning sensation is when acidic stomach contents regurgitate up the oesophagus. Not only is this unpleasant, if left to persist, reflux can irreparably scar the oesophagus. This may cause difficulty swallowing food and may cause worse - cancer. Reflux is most often experienced and at its worst, when lying down.

Lifestyle changes and over-the-counter medications are typically used to treat and prevent heartburn.

The normal action is to be prescribed reflux drugs. The major action of these drugs is to suppress or neutralise hydrochloric acid (HCL). But this is a short-sighted remedy. The lining of the stomach produces HCL to digest food. Without HCL, food does not digest properly. This means the loss of nutrients for health and vitality. It means partially digested food making its way down the digestive tract, putrefying as it goes. None of this is good.

While reflux medication may give relief, this is a Faustian Deal. The cost of short-term relief is nasty payment later on by nasty diseases, too awful to even speak about.

Prevention is better. The only cost of prevention is the effort to change habits such as gobbling down one's food. The upside is great health and boundless energy.

Let's have a look at this man's hair tissue mineral analysis (HTMA):

A typical HTMA for a man who works with his hands: TOXIC!

I think the reason this man is suffering reflux is we have triggered detoxification of toxic elements such as arsenic. When the body mobilises and dumps toxins such as arsenic from the body, the vile liquid excretes via bile. The liver produces bile, and bile is the primary pathway for cleansing the body of toxins. The bile enters the intestines at the duodenum, which is just below the stomach. If bile is toxic, it may irritate the stomach. When the stomach senses a toxin, the natural action is to vomit. Digestive upset is a common side effect of detoxification.

In the good old days

In the good old days, we sat at the table and ate slow. If we did not sit up straight, hold our knives and forks the right way, or eat with our mouths shut, Dad would rap us over the knuckles with the flat of his knife! To leave the table, we would first ask his permission. This may sound over the top, but I now appreciate his obsession with enforcing culinary discipline. If a person eats on the run and wolfs it down like a labrador, reflux is an inevitable consequence.

An infection, such as what causes the stomach ulcer, may be present. See your doctor. It may be necessary to have antibiotic treatment. If there is an infection, then the advice in this article is even more important. It is essential to follow preventive lifestyle guidelines for at least three months after medical treatment and to make these permanent. Do not allow the infection to return, which may happen if lifestyle and eating habits are not for the better.

Time for action (much of the following is obvious)!

1. Take your time eating. Eat slow. Sit while eating, do not gobble, chew your food well. Picking small pieces of food with chopsticks may slow chomping down food.

2. Have your main meal in the middle of the day and have a nap (siesta) afterwards, then get back to work. Make the evening meal a smaller one and of easy to digest foods.

3. Avoid spicey or hard to digest foods in the evening.

4. Eat wholesome, fresh foods that do not have colourings, flavourings, emulsifiers and other additives.

5. Eat at least three hours before going to bed, so your tummy is empty when your head hits the pillow.

6. If you have food in your tummy when lying down, including lunchtime, prop your body up with pillows or lay, semi-recumbent, in a reclining chair. If you lie too flat, the stomach contents may slosh up the oesophagus, which causes the symptoms and damage of reflux (indigestion).
   

Eat slow, with chopsticks.

If there is any sensation of reflux, do:

1. Stand up, do not continue to lie down.

2. Dilute your stomach contents with water.

Take digestive support

These fall into three groups:

1. Supporting hydrochloric acid production.

2. Supporting digestive enzyme production.

3. Supporting healthy digestive flora.
   

If there is detoxification happening, we have various products to assist with the process, including ones that help neutralise and excrete them with less discomfort.

If you suffer symptoms of reflux, you are welcome to inquire with me about remedies.